第九週■週六

w09d06-ch

晨興餧養

啓二一2『我又看見聖城新耶路撒冷由神那裏從天而降，豫備好了，就如新婦妝飾整齊，等候丈夫。』

       11『城中有神的榮耀…。』

我們需要操練自己，以至於在一切事上，使神顯現於我們的肉體。保羅將操練以至於敬虔與操練身體相比。〔提前四7 ～ 8。〕操練身體對我們的健康有益，但益處不多，無法與操練以至於敬虔的益處相比。操練以至於敬虔，凡事都有益處。

慕勒（George Müller）得救後，成了一個敬虔的人。他每天早晨所作的第一件事，就是讀經並禱告，將他的禱告與讀經調和。慕勒這種將禱告與讀神的話調和的實行，無疑的幫助他長壽。神的話洗去我們的擔憂和罣慮，並帶給我們喜樂。操練每天藉着讀禱主話而得着神的喜樂，會幫助我們在屬靈上和肉身上都健康。（李常受文集一九七八年第三册，二六九頁。）

信息選讀

我們可以禱告：『主，我是輭弱的，但你在我裏面。主，幫助我、加強我、與我站在一起，加給我能力，使我在凡事上都操練自己以至於敬虔。』我們在理髮的事上，可以操練自己以至於敬虔。我們在買鞋子的時候，可以禱告：『主，這雙鞋子是否合式彰顯神？』我們需要禱告：『主，這幅畫掛在我的客廳裏是否彰顯神？』我們若這樣禱告，主會向我們說話，引導我們過敬虔的生活。這就是操練我們自己以至於敬虔。我們該禱告並尋求主，過一種十分敬虔的生活，並在凡事上操練我們自己以至於敬虔。（李常受文集一九七八年第三册，二六九至二七○頁。）

在召會生活中，該有神顯現於肉體。要有這樣的光景，召會裏必須有神與人榮耀的聯結。我們裏面應當有神，但神顯現於肉體，乃是藉着並在正常、正當的人性裏彰顯出來。所有在召會生活裏的弟兄姊妹，無論長幼，行事爲人都當合宜，合乎他們的年齡；不該有虛假，而該在人性和神性上都是真誠的。

召會作爲神的家，就是這位活神成爲肉體，顯現於肉體。在四卷福音書裏，神是在基督耶穌個人身上顯現於肉體；然而到了提前三章，神顯現於肉體乃是團體的，是顯現於整個召會的。不僅基督是大哉敬虔的奧祕，召會在原則上也是神顯現於肉體。

基督是神顯現於肉體，但召會也是這樣。…當我們在靈裏一同聚會時，神就在我們中間顯現；這就是神顯現於肉體。元首基督怎樣是神顯現於肉體，祂的身體也照樣是神顯現於肉體。倘若全召會聚在一處，情形正確，不信的人進來，『就必面伏於地敬拜神，宣告說，神真是在你們中間了。』（林前十四23 ～25。）每當召會正確的聚在一處，神的同在就被人所知悉。我們承認自己仍是肉體，但活在我們靈裏的神要顯現、彰顯於我們的肉體。這顯現必須不僅是個人的，更是團體的。因着正確的召會生活是神團體的顯現於肉體，所以活神的召會乃是終極完成之敬虔的奧祕。召會要成爲神在肉體的團體彰顯，召會中的每一位都必須被變化。（林後三18。）

召會—神顯現於肉體—乃是神的家；而新耶路撒冷將是神的城，這表徵新耶路撒冷，就是神顯現於新造，將是召會的擴大和完成，在永世裏彰顯神。（新約總論第十二册，二二三至二二四頁。）

參讀：健康的話，第五章。

WEEK 9 — DAY 6

Morning Nourishment

Rev. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

         11 Having the glory of God...

We need to exercise ourselves unto the manifestation of God in our flesh in all things. Paul compares exercise unto godliness to bodily exercise [1 Tim. 4:7-8]. Physical exercise benefits our health, but it is profitable only for a little. It does not compare to the profit of exercise unto godliness. Exercise unto godliness is profitable for all things.

After George Muller was saved, he became a godly man. The first thing he did every morning was to read the Bible and pray, mingling his prayer with the reading of the Word. Müller’s practice to combine his prayer with his reading of the Word of God no doubt contributed to his long life. The word of God washes away our worries and anxieties and brings us joy. Practicing to receive the joy of God every day through reading and praying over the Word will help us to be healthy both spiritually and physically. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Healthy Word,” p. 194)

Today’s Reading

We can pray, “Lord, I am weak, but You are within me. Lord, help me, strengthen me, stand with me, and empower me to exercise myself unto godliness in all things.” In cutting our hair, we can exercise ourselves unto godliness. In buying a pair of shoes, we can pray, “Lord, is this pair of shoes suitable for the manifestation of God?” We need to pray, “Lord, does hanging this picture in my living room manifest God?” If we pray in this way, the Lord will speak to us and lead us in living a godly life. This is to exercise ourselves unto godliness. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Healthy Word,” pp. 194-195)

In the church life there should be the manifestation of God in the flesh. In order for this to be the situation, there must be in the church the glorious union of God and man. Inwardly, we should have God, but God is manifested in the flesh through a normal and proper humanity. All those in the church life— the brothers and the sisters, the elderly ones and the young ones—should behave in a way that is normal and fitting for their respective ages. Instead of pretense, there should be a genuineness that is both human and divine.

The church as the house of God is the living God becoming flesh and being manifested in the flesh. In the four Gospels God was manifested in the flesh in Jesus as a single individual. But in 1 Timothy 3 God’s manifestation in the flesh is in the entire church corporately. Not only is Christ the great mystery of godliness, but in principle the church is also God manifested in the flesh.

Christ is the manifestation of God in the flesh, but so is the church...When we meet together in the Spirit, God is manifested among us; this is the manifestation of God in the flesh. Just as Christ the Head is the manifestation of God in the flesh, so also is His Body. If the whole church is gathered together in a proper way, and an unbeliever comes in, “falling on his face, he will worship God, declaring that indeed God is among you” (1 Cor. 14:23-25). God’s presence is known whenever the church meets together properly. We admit that we are still flesh, but the God who lives in our spirit will be manifested, expressed, in our flesh. This manifestation must be not merely individual but corporate. Because the proper church life is the corporate manifestation of God in the flesh, the church of the living God is the consummate mystery of godliness. For the church to be the corporate expression of God in the flesh, everyone in the church must be transformed (2 Cor. 3:18).

The church as the manifestation of God in the flesh is the house of God, but the New Jerusalem will be the city of God, signifying that the New Jerusalem, as the manifestation of God in the new creation, will be the enlargement and consummation of the church to express God in eternity. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3666-3667)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Healthy Word,” ch. 5